mindybriarphotography-19-550?v=1

The Local Universal Oyster

And the Mysterious House in Mill Cove

You’ve seen it: a tiny house on a small island in the middle of Mill Cove. It’s too charming to be haunted, too tidy to be a neglected relic, and too visible to be a party destination for our wayward youth.

What is it, then? It’s the past-home (no water, no electricity) of a reclusive oyster security guard.

More recently, Hummock Island has become a favored destination of “Influencers” who find the quaint retreat highly bloggable and Instagrammable, especially when accompanied by a few bottles of rosé and matching Covid masks. Hardly ones to turn down an opportunity to mingle and influence, our photographer Mindy Briar and I joined them.

Which is why we found ourselves on a warm Tuesday night, standing among sea grass on the Mill Cove shore waiting for the distant motorboat to take us to a corona-wary wine and oyster fling.

35-year old Jeff Northrop, whose family owns the property and who is responsible for its revitalization, motored up to our socially-distanced selves in a sparsely appointed boat. We took off our shoes, clambered in, and he whisked us to the oyster guard’s island. We sipped and socialized while the Influencers snapped countless photos until Jeff reappeared to shuck oysters and delight us with the history of where we were:

Waaaayyyy before any of you were born, Westport learned it couldn’t get a charter to become a town unless there was some sort of commerce. So “they” damned up a stream, creating Mill Pond, and built Mill House, a grinding station for grain. Next to it they built Cooper Shed, a shack in which they made barrels to store the grain. These barrels of grain were then hauled onto sailboats and schooners to sell and - BOOM! - commerce!

Inadvertently, the streams necessary for the milling also created a perfect environment for bivalve farming, or “growing oysters.” Shallow water, high flow, enviable temperature, and salinity. The Northrops call it the foie gras of oyster farming, wherein the velocity of the water force feeds yummy algae to the oysters, enabling them to grow twice as fast as oysters in less desirable conditions; 18 months instead of three years. Unlike ducks, the shellfish seem to enjoy this involuntary feeding frenzy.

A King’s Grant enabled Jeff’s ancestors to purchase the area and farm bivalves in the 1800s.

All went swimmingly until the flu epidemic of 1917. Rumor spread that clam broth cured this ailment, so men took guns to the Mill Cove, intent on stealing medicinal mollusks. Now, let’s assume they knew the difference between oysters and clams and that they thought clams were somehow harvested from oyster beds. I’m still unclear on why they couldn’t simply buy them.

Of interest, according to a March 2020 article in the Washington Post, during the time of influenza those afflicted were recommended a hearty meal of “gruel, barley water, milk toast, …clam soup, beef tea or chicken jelly, and kumiss, a drink of fresh milk mixed with buttermilk and left to ferment for 36 hours.” It’s unclear whether this was considered beneficial for recovery or prevention. However it is clear is that clam soup trumps chicken jelly or fermented milk no matter what the national emergency.

At any rate, clams were all the rage. So one night, when the salty waters had ebbed to their sandy floor, they loaded Cooper shed on to a stone boat… which I just learned is a type of sled, not a boat made of rock… and taxed a team of oxen with dragging it to the island where it now stands.

In this shed/house they installed the oyster security guard to scare off crooked clam-divers.

Fast forward to, say, 2010. Though the beds belonged to Jeff Northrop Sr., oystering was no longer the family “thing” and his son, Jeff, had no inkling of their ownership. “I had graduated from Columbia and was working for a hedge fund when dad told me he runs the property,” Jeff explains, “He said it may be a sustainable business, good for the environment.”

Jeff left his job and is now revitalizing Westport’s oyster industry.

In effect, he created today’s popular Hummock Island oyster. According to Chef/Owner Nick Martschenko (South End and SE Uncorked, New Canaan) the oysters are plump, briny, and not-too-salty. “They’re the ‘universal’ oyster” Nick adds.

All of us merry influencers agreed. Though only two were brave enough to slurp the ghost crabs…

Related Businesses

Nothing Bundt Cakes (Atlanta)

Desserts

Nothing Bundt Cakes (Atlanta)

Alpharetta, GA

Our Bundt Cakes are handcrafted in every bakery in a variety of delicious flavors and sizes. To top it all off, our bakeries...

Chandlers Prime Steaks and Fine Seafood

Gluten-Free

Chandlers Prime Steaks and Fine Seafood

Boise, ID

Chandler's is a locally-owned, upscale dinner house specializing in prime steaks and jet-fresh seafood. Enjoy a craft...

Parkhill's Liquors & Wine South

Beer Wine + Spirits

Parkhill's Liquors & Wine South

Tulsa, OK

A beautiful modern store providing a unique shopping experience offering South Tulsa's largest selection of wine, spirits and...

See More

Related Articles

See More